Why Comments Make the Blog
Some people say a blog without comments isn’t even a blog at all, but in reality they just add value. A blog exactly is just a series of time stamped “post” displayed in reverse order (newest first), and that’s it. Wikipedia makes it sound fancy:
A blog (a portmanteau of web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.
Comments, while not part of the definition, are something you find on nearly every blog, and they will be on every popular blog. Comments make the blog what it is.
- Refine your point. You can use your blog comments to further describe what you’re saying in the post.
- Get to know your readers. Blog comments let readers interact with you, but it also works the other way.
- Show you’re real. In a a digital world, actually talking to the people helps your blog.
Those are just things that comments let you do. The benefits of comments are great too:
- Increase page views
- Lets you know someone is actually reading
- Very gratifying when someone comments
- Keeps your blog active
Replying to comments is something all bloggers should do. Once bloggers get really popular, they tend to stop replying as much, unfortunately. Today (July 25th) along this week and next I’m on vacation (auto posting the whole time) and can’t respond to comments. But when I get back, that will be on my to-do list (along with the 200 emails).
So turn your comments on, even if you never get any. If you’re afraid of spam, get Akismet. It does the job, despite what people may say about spam slipping through. Start a discussion and I assure you your blog will become even better.
Leave a comment
MrCorey
July 25th, 2007 at 2:15 PM
I agree totally. In a reasonably bold (for me) move, I recently stopped first comment moderation as well. I use Simple Spam Filter and Aksimet to filter the spam and it seems to be working well. Almost no spammers get through and to the blog itself. With comments, your diatribe then becomes a conversation!
Mike
July 25th, 2007 at 9:32 PM
Hey,
That makes sense! I wont even tell you how many spam messages are in my akismet! There is so many!!!
Adam
July 31st, 2007 at 12:44 PM
If I like an article I comment on it. I do this out of respect for the author because I know how hard it is to write new content. I’m always excited when i receive a new comment (I’ve only gotten 3 :P)
Andre Ward
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:13 AM
Comments are of great inspiration for me, especially since most people ignore my website for the fact that it is on a free web host. But I get around! Besides, I’m still a newbie at this.
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